Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness

For Immediate Release:
April 4, 2008

For Information, Contact:
Pam Ronan, 609-292-3703

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, in partnership with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, will present a course entitled “Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness,” on the following dates, times and locations:

This course will provide individuals with hearing loss and emergency responders with the basic skills they need to communicate with each other in a variety of emergency situations, including terrorist attacks and natural and biological disasters. Course participants will gain the skills they need to prepare for, or respond to, an emergency situation involving individuals who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing or late-deafened.

The course materials will be delivered by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) and will train participants to identify and recruit those in their neighborhoods whose daily activities place them in a unique position to identify potential barriers to effective communication, as well as provide proven solutions to work around such obstacles.

This course promotes emergency preparedness, community response and recovery from emergencies involving individuals with hearing loss. This one-day course contains lectures, interactive activities and group discussions to ensure that participants gain better understanding of the needs of individuals who have a hearing loss, especially in times of emergencies.